Elements of Orality in the Fairy Tales of H. C. Andersen

I. Orality and Literacy

The vague term 'orality' is difficult to delimit, as it includes any
oral utterance from the strongly context-bound, unplanned language
of young children to the lecture which is carefully put in
writing.1 This shows how problematic the usual structuralist opposition of orality
versus literacy is. Koch and Österreicher substitute the well-known
dichotomy by "language of proximity" and "language of
distance".2 De-borah Tannen tries to avoid black-and-white depiction by
concentrating on strategies associated with the oral and literate
tradition.3 Such strategies can only be tendentially located, which is why Tannen speaks of
an "oral/literate continuum".4

According to theory, written narration is linked up with oral
narration at the transition from oral to literate cultures, and therefore written
texts retain traits of oral narration.5 Yet orality necessarily loses its
original qualities when changed to the written form. In short, the change of
medium entails a translation from an audible into a visible artefact.
Orality in written texts is never itself, but always feigned and thus a
component of the author's strategy.6

When searching for orality in written texts, the critic thus
encounters at least four problems:

Narrative techniques can hardly be ascribed to one single
category, because strategies are mixed deliberately or unconsciously in
all kinds of texts. A job interview may for example show more
elements usually ascribed to written language than a careless
journal entry.

Relevant linguistic research deals primarily with English and
cannot automatically be transferred to Danish. Universals have to
be distinguished from language- and culture-dependent
characteristics of orality.7

The lack of phonologically verifiable material from Andersen's
time partly undermines the linguistic research.

In literary texts, the mimetic function of orality is of secondary
importance, so that it is insufficient to search for clues to certain
phonetic, lexical, syntactical, and dialectal
features.8 Instead, literary scholarship should concentrate on functions which result from
the imitation of real orality.9

As Paul Goetsch claims, the most important general task of
feigned orality in literary texts is to create the illusion of a language of
proximity which may increase the appeal and readability of the texts. Written
narration forces the recipient to constitute the narrated world through
the act of reading. Feigned orality is a technique used to create an
illusion which helps the reader in this process.10

The linguistic aspect of this paper is tied up with one of genre
theory. The Kunstmärchen11 is no independent literary
genre;12 rather, it is oriented toward the folktale
(Volksmärchen) with its claim to oral telling and
aural reception.13 While the folktale could still be defined as "a work
of epical fiction transmitted by way of mouth" in the late
1950's,14 it is well acknowledged today that an uninterrupted stream of oral transmission
is improbable and that literary composition precedes the popularisation
in oral narration.15 Thus the author of a fairy tale finds himself in the
paradoxical situation of referring to a tradition of orality which is itself
a fiction.

However, these critical observations do not alter the fact that
Andersen wrote in a style highly unusual for his time, a style which will
be analysed with regard to the folktale as supposedly oral narration.

II. Grammar

Spoken language is generally characterized by a lower degree of
complexity and abstraction than its written
counterpart.16 This is due both to the high speed of production and reception and to the fact that in
face-to-face communication, the relationship of the speaker to the recipient
may be more important than the mere transmission of
content.17 Oral narration is thus marked by lower lexical
variability.18

Andersen uses a simple inventory of attributive adjuncts in his
fairy tales. In "The Little Mermaid" the expression "bedrøvet" has to
suffice as a description of all varieties and gradations of
sadness.19 There is an abundance of formulaic dichotomies such as
like-dislike, wise-stupid,
rich-poor, or good-bad. Andersen does not work with shades, but
with sharp contrasts which are mnemotechnical devices insofar as
black-and-white drawing is more memorable than pastel
drawing.20 The same applies to the inclination towards superlatives which enable the
author to intensify a few basic attributes like
dejlig, nydelig, and
prægtig. The little mermaid "havde den skjønneste Stemme af alle paa Jorden og
i Havet" (I, 97:20f) and "de nydeligste smaae, hvide Been, nogen
lille Pige kunde have" (I, 100:37f).

The frequent use of adverbs backing other adverbs, adjectives or
sentences is a sign of lexical reductionism, too, as it allows for
differentiation without the author's being forced to enlarge the stock of words.
The following statement from "Ole Lukøie" is underlined threefold: "...
de stode i en udhulet Osteskorpe og kyssedes saa skrækkeligt
meget for Alles Øine ..." (I,
172:38f).21 Even the sense of place may be
intensified by the use of adverbs (helt,
lige). In "The Tinder Box", the
description of the soldier's room "heelt inde under Taget" (I, 26:18) literally
moves the protagonist toward the tiles and thus emphasizes his
claustrophobic circumstances of living.

Finally, many formulations are colloquial to varying degrees,
ranging from the prince "[som] vilde have
sig en Prindsesse" (I, 41:2) to the general who sits "aldeles
henkogt" (IV, 240:39)22 in his living-room.
In some cases everyday usage is even marked by the narrator as in "da
han levede stod han sig godt, som man siger" (II,
239:32).23

The syntax of Andersen's fairy tales also indicates the author's effort
to feign orality. Innumerable exclamations, often begun with an
interjection, vivify the narration and emphasize the narrator's emotional
participation.24 In "The Princess on the Pea", the narrator comments on
the unbecoming entrance of the princess herself: "Men Gud hvor hun
saae ud af Regnen og det onde Veir!" (I, 41:14f).

One of the least disputed features of spoken language is its
tendency toward parataxis25 which requires less planning than hypotaxis
and which is also typical of Andersen's fairy tales. The first contact one
of the little mermaid's sisters makes with human beings is described as follows: "I en lille Bugt traf hun en heel Flok smaa Menneskebørn; ganske nøgne løb de og plaskede i Vandet, hun vilde lege med dem, men de løbe forskrækkede deres Vei, og der kom et lille sort Dyr, det var
en Hund, men hun havde aldrig før set en Hund ..." (I, 90:16-20).
While the main clauses are frequently linked by
og or other conjunctions, they are sometimes asyndetically set one beside the other in a
telegraphic style: "En Aften blev det da et frygteligt Veir; det lynede og
tordnede, Regnen skyllede ned, det var ganske forskrækkeligt!" (I,
41:10f).26 This technique suggests the fragmentation and provisionality which are
also considered features of oral utterance.27

Some of the paratactical elements resemble interposed
spontaneous comments, such as in "The Wind Tells about Valdemar Daae and
His Daughters": "'... her vare de tre, -
Faderen var med! - De gik hen af Veien, hvor de havde kjørt i Karreet ...'" (III, 110:18f). Ideas are
not structured as we expect them to be in written formulation; instead,
they are presented in the confused way thoughts might enter a
narrator's mind.28

Often the word order is wrong as in the following example,
where the subordinate clause appears in the guise of a main clause:
" Gaaseurt[en] blev saa forskrækket af bare Glæde,
at den vidste slet ikke mere, hvad den skulde tænke" (I,
118:12f).29 Other sentences are syntactically incomplete. Thus "The Wind Tells" its wisdom by
tags: "' fare hen! fare hen! og det i alle Aaringer'" (III, 110:31), or it
casts catching proverbs at the listener: "'Nye Tider, andre Tider!'"
(III, 112:16). Yet not all of the short utterances are incomplete. Brief
sentences may be used as surprise effects, such as the anticlimactic
final: "Væk var den [Vinden]" (III, 112:22), which reflects the wind's
velocity.

Contrasting with such fragments, there are seemingly endless
paratactical structures, especially in cases of climactic development.
They are but loosely linked and give the impression of breathlessness.
The crucial scene in "The Little Mermaid" reads:

Furthermore, punctuation tends to lose its original marking and
dividing functions. Logically the following sentence from "The
Wild Swans" would require a division into three: "... da hun gjorde sin
lille Haand vaad og gned Øine og Pande, skinnede den hvide Hud
frem igjen, da lagde hun alle sine Klæder og gik ud i det friske Vand;
et deiligere Kongebarn fandtes der ikke i denne Verden" (I,
128:10-14). Remarkably, there is no capitalization after many of those
punctuation marks which usually indicate the closing of a sentence.
Thus the first paragraph of "The Wind Tells" reads: "Lad kun Vinden
fortælle! den veed Eventyr og Historier ..." (III, 103:13f).
Andersen seems to suggest that the written text is a stop-gap which, like
music (i.e., the printed matter), gives mere indications as to how it is
supposed to sound.

III. Repetition

Redundancy is a general feature of spoken
language.31 This is due primarily to the limited possibilities of complex composition. Max
Lüthi explains that repetition in speech is necessary for both the narrator as
a creative break ("schöpferische Pause") and for the listener as a
reception break
("Rezeptionspause").32 Repetition also serves a purpose
in that the listener cannot leaf back as in a novel to review information
already given.33 Finally, the return of the familiar gives the recipient
a feeling of security and structure.34

In Andersen's fairy tales, repetition is a central stylistic
element which may be found on various levels. "The Princess on the Pea"
shows how important terms are underlined effectively by means of this
device. On one page the word combination "en rigtig Prindsesse" appears
four times,35 "en virkelig Prindsesse" three times. The ambiguous nature
of reality, the theme of the tale, is thus audibly foregrounded.

Complex chains of associations, based on single terms, are taken
up again and again, such as in "The Tinder Box", where the size of
the dogs' eyes is a central motif which dominates even the final sentence
as a play on words: "... og Hundene sad med til Bords og gjorde
store Øine" (I, 29:25f). Furthermore, whole sentence structures and parts
are repeated, often marking parallel units of meaning. In "The Red
Shoes" the sentence " ... og Karen saae paa de sorte Skoe, hun saae paa de
røde - og saa saae hun paa de røde igjen ..." (II, 86:35f, Andersen's
emphasis) signals the choice between good and bad. A little later it is taken
up again, when Karen finally chooses the 'wrong' way: "... hun saae
paa den gamle Frue, der jo dog ikke kunde leve, hun saae paa de røde
Skoe ... hun tog de røde Skoe paa ..." (II, 87:32-34).

Several of the fairy tales make use of a refrain which constantly
refers back to the core motif. The wind's "'Hu- u- ud! fare hen! fare
hen!'" returns ten times in "The Wind Tells", partly with slight variations,
and this programmatic howling closes the single periods of the story:
the building of the ship, which precedes the symbolic advent of winter
(III, 106:25), the Daaes' exodus from Borreby Gaard after a long time
of privation (III, 110:30f), and the death of the last family member,
Anna Dorthea (III, 112:19). Thus the refrain is used as a binding force in a
tale which tells the sad story of evanescence and decay.

Andersen's comical tautologies add a touch of spontaneity to
the fairy tales. The narrator of "The Tinder Box" wisely states: " nu
var han riig da han havde saa mange Penge" (I, 25:32), and "The
Wind Tells" deals with the same theme: "' der var rigt derinde i
Borreby Gaard, da Rigdommen var der'" (III, 104:10f, Andersen's
emphasis). Yet both of these tautologies turn out to be well-planned and of
topical relevance, as they implicitly ask whether the persons concerned are
also rich in the figurative sense.

The repetition of sounds, words, groups of words or units of
content is a structural principle common to the folktale and Andersen's
fairy tales,36 and therefore Lüthi's approach to the folktale may be transferred
to Andersen. Lüthi observes that simple and varied repetition is a
universal principle, so that the folktale may thus be said to concretize
the basic structure of existence.37 In the fairy tale, then, important
features of life are turned into an audible event.

IV. Sound: Singing the Fairy Tale

Andersen's fairy tales basically live through sound, on being
aurally received. This is expressed by various sound phenomena within
the fairy tales and is furthermore explicitly made a topic in some.

Often Andersen uses alliterations such as: "'... Ravne og Krager ...
skrege med hæse Skrig om Skoven ...'" (III,
106:28-30).38 They may also emphasize meaning as in "The Wind Tells", where the Daaes'
pride "'med Bram og med Brask'" (III, 104:24) is highlighted, and the
patriarch's fall, brought about by his avarice, is thus commented on:
"'Gjeld kom for Guld'" (III, 108:18). Rhymed couplets are less frequent,
although many examples can be found in the programmatically
sound-oriented "The Wind Tells". "'[H]æsende og blæsende'" (III, 104:28) the
wind dashes over "'Volde og Grave, Skov og Have'" (III, 106:10f), and in
winter the crows sit on the decaying ship, "'det øde, det døde'" (III, 106:29).

Incidents are vivified by means of onomatopoetic devices.
During Hjalmar's nocturnal sailing excursion in "Ole Lukøie", the fish
jump out of the water "saa det sagde Pladsk igjen i Vandet ... og
Oldenborren sagde bum, bum" (I, 169:31-34). The imitations of animal language
are especially impressive. In "The Fir Tree" the sparrows twitter: "'Det
vide vi! det vide vi'" (II, 42:37), and the crows and jackdaws in "The
Wind Tells" croak: "'fra Reden! fra Reden! frá! frá!'" (III, 105:34). In
the second quotation the use of symbols which are exclusively meant
to indicate stress shows to which degree the text in general is to be
understood as a phonetic transcription.

Lyrical elements repeatedly show up in the narrative flow of the
fairy tales. A distinct rhythm may occur especially in descriptions of
nature, resulting in dactylic or trochaic constructions like "paa Stjernen,
den funklende Stjerne deroppe" (I, 153:20f) or "det var Sommer, den
varme, velsignede Sommer" (II, 76:37).39 In the following example, rhythm
is combined with a rhymed couplet. The wind tells that it often came back,

Arranged like this the lines, which run on quite ordinarily in the
original text, are automatically read as a tetrameter rhymed couplet with an
additional internal rhyme in the first verse. The old weeder in "Little
Tuk" intones a two-foot anapaestic rhymed couplet: "'... det er vaadt, det
er vaadt, det er gravstille godt ...'" (II, 127:29f).

"The Wind Tells" sketches the theme of Andersen's poetics of
oral narration and exemplifies it at the same time. To begin with, the
title introduces narrating as such while expounding the aspect of orality,
as the wind can only make itself understood through sound. The
narrator presents the wind as a person who has to tell fairy tales and stories
and begs his listeners: "Hør nu, hvor den [Vinden] fortæller ..."
(III, 103:14f). Thus the whole story to come is a feigned quotation.

This family story results from an interplay of listening and
speaking. In order to obtain the relevant information, the wind eavesdropped
on the Daaes throughout their lives, listening at the chimney or at cracks
in the windows and walls (III, 106:18; 109:34). The ensuing tale is
pure sound: "... den synger det ud, og anderledes
klinger det i Skovens Træer ... hører du, hvor Vinden hernede
tuder gjennem den aabne Port, som var den Vægter og
blæste i Horn!" (III, 103:5-10). The narration
turns out to be a musical experience with many different variations of sound.

This is even more obvious in "What Old Johanne Told", which
begins with the words "Vinden suser i det gamle Piletræ! Det er som hørte
man en Sang; Vinden synger den, Træet
fortæller den" (V, 180:2-4).
Narration is presented as sound which cannot be grasped rationally. Old
Johanne is waiting in the background to explain things to those who
are incapable of understanding them (V, 180:4-6). Toward the end of
the fairy tale the initial words are modified: "Vinden susede i Træets
Grene, det var som en Sang, det var som en
Tale" (V, 190:41f). Song and speech become identical, as the wind both sings and
tells.40 Basically Andersen longs for a universal language which reaches the soul directly
without the mediation of words. This explains the fairy tales' tendency toward
a dissociation of language from itself, which is most clearly
exemplified in "The Bell". The bell's tolling tells the story of truth, beauty and
goodness and is finally accompanied by an all-encompassing song:
" Skoven sang og Havet sang og hans [Kongesønnens] Hjerte sang
med " (II, 208:24f). For Andersen, the fairy tale as a kind of music is to
be understood mainly via its sound,41 and Georg Brandes instinctively
understands this relationship when he writes: "Ingen Omskrivninger,
Alt siges her rent ud af Posen, ja mere end siges, brummes, nynnes
og tudes."42

V. Life as Story: Oral and Dialogic Narration

The importance of "The Wind Tells" is also due to the fact that not
the action, but narration itself becomes a fairy tale. Only the conditions
of narrating are fantastic, while the story gives a basically realistic
account of a family's economic and social decline. On the whole, elements
of the fantastic are limited to the narrative perspective, demonstrating
new ways of approaching the unspectacular and gloomy realities of
everyday life.

To Andersen, oral narration seems to be not only the key to the
fairy tale, but to life itself. Thus the merchant's son in "The Flying
Trunk" gains the princess merely because he is such a convincing teller of
fairy tales (I, 158:18-22). Finally he becomes a Wandering Jew who
travels around the world telling mournful tales after he has lost both the
princess and the realm by his own fault. While narration initially is a
means of assuring one's good fortune, in the end it is turned into a
therapeutic strategy to cope with failure.

"Ole Lukøie" also deals with a narrator within the narration, a
Nordic guardian of sleep who is a reputed expert ("Han kan rigtignok
fortælle" [I, 167:3]) and helps the boy Hjalmar to live in his dream stories
for seven succeeding nights. As the reader does not learn anything
about Hjalmar's daylight activities, the whole week, symbolizing a
lifetime, becomes a never-ending dream. In fantastic tales Hjalmar rambles
through a colorful 'counter-reality' where he nevertheless experiences the
full range of adult life down to death in the last episode.

Whereas the narrator of the folktale maintains a distance from his
audience, Andersen's tales stand out because of the proximity of the
narrator to both action and implicit
listener.43 As in "The Wind Tells", the
narrator is proud of having witnessed all the incidents and being able to
make the listener share the experience afterwards. When imitating the
soldier's marching rhythm: "een, to! een, to!" (I, 23:2f), the narrator
of "The Tinder Box" assumes the role of an onlooker standing at the
roadside watching the soldier pass by. Later, when the serviceable dog
takes the princess to the soldier, the narrator describes the noble rider as
"saa deilig, at enhver kunde see, det var en virkelig Prindsesse" (I,
27:12f). He pretends actually to have seen the princess at the time, enabling
him to take on the role of judge.

Andersen uses deictical elements in order to close the gap
between the observed action and the temporal and spatial situation of the recipient. These elements are typical of spoken language because they imply a shared here and now of speaker and
listener.44 The narrator of the frame story in "The Wind Tells" suggests that he meets with his audience at the open fireplace, "og her er saa luunt og hyggeligt at sidde og høre
til" (III, 103:12f). Furthermore, Andersen simulates a situation of
proximity by addressing his readers/listeners directly as in "The Snow
Queen", which opens with: "See saa! nu begynde vi" (II, 49:5), or "The
Princess on the Pea", which closes with the words, "See, det var en rigtig
Historie!" (I, 42:13). Additionally, the imperative takes on a deictic
function as it evokes the illusion that the recipient is able to follow the
narrator's outstretched index finger.

In the first paragraph of "The Wind Tells", the narrator
repeatedly asks the listener to use his/her eyes and ears, and this is what Klotz
calls a "sensual vis-à-vis" of speaker and
listener.45 The act of reading loses its inherent distance, becoming a sensual experience of
narration.46 Just as the folktale addresses a community of listeners which is expected
to react in some way,47 Andersen's recipient should by no means be
passive. Direct references to the reader/listener make it obvious that
the author's ideal is that of dialogic
narration.48 In "The Swan's Nest"
the narrator goes so far as to anticipate his recipients' answers by
saying: "Det var i de ældgamle Dage! siger Du", or "'Ja, den Gang!' siger
Du, 'men nu i vore Dage!'" (II, 236:20; 237:5). Furthermore, Andersen
uses questions as an effective means of involving his listeners, as the
title "Which Was the Happiest?" indicates. At the close of the tale, the
wind addresses its audience: "'Siig mig saa, hvem var den Lykkeligste af
dem Alle? Ja, det maa Du sige, jeg har sagt nok!'" (V, 144:31-33). The
recipient is explicitly asked to respond to the narration and to
continue where the given text ends.

"Ole Lukøie" is a brilliant example of Andersen's concept of the
dialogic way texts come into being. Even the internal action of the seven
single tales consists of a succession of dialogues. The conclusion of every
tale takes the recipient back to the core dialogue between Ole and Hjalmar.
It is the exchange between the two that brings the dreams into
existence. These dreams do not simply begin on their own; Hjalmar must first
accept the suggestions of the narrator Ole. Hjalmar has to climb into
the landscape picture all by himself; Ole just lifts him up to it (I,
169:20-22). When Ole suggests that Hjalmar might visit a mouse wedding, the
boy inquires how to get into the mousehole, causing Ole to demonstrate
his magic abilities (I, 172:13-16). In the last three episodes, Hjalmar takes
the initiative himself. His inquiry: "'Hvad skulle vi nu have for i
Nat?'" (I, 173:25) enables him to attend the dolls' wedding. The following
night he impatiently insists: "'Faaer jeg nu Historier!'" (I, 175:5), and on
the last evening he demands: "'Nu skal Du fortælle mig Historier '"
(I, 176:5). Hjalmar has to fight against Ole's decreasing interest,
spurring him on to further activity.

Ida in "Little Ida's Flowers" participates in the process of narration
in a similar way. When the student begins his story of the flowers
which are so keen on dancing, the sceptical girl contradicts at once:
"'Men Blomsterne kunne jo ikke dandse!'" (I, 43:14). This situation is
typical of a language of proximity where production and reception are
interlocked, so that there is constant
feedback.49 The narrator's task during the course of the fairy tale is to react to Ida's objections, to soften her realistic and sceptical point of view, and to make her sensitive to
"'den dumme Phantasie'" (I, 45:35). He succeeds, for Ida finally
elaborates upon his original phantasies. When she lies in bed, she suddenly
hears the piano playing in the living-room and imagines the flowers
dancing. Then she rises, passing the threshold of the living-room into the
fancy world it represents (I, 46:21-47:3). The story in wonderland is
carried on as the recipient Ida becomes the narrator.

In sum, I would claim that narration in Andersen's fairy tales is
equally connected with sound and dialogue and is therefore necessarily
bound up with orality. Furthermore, dialogue seems to be seen as the
condition of human maturing, because Ida playfully comes to terms with the
idea of death by fanciful joint narrating which paradoxically helps her
explore the adult world.

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